Arne Naess founded the concept of deep ecology. Deep ecology? An idea that seems so obvious : all living things – plants, animals and humans – have equal value, not just in terms of how useful they are to humans. For Naess, the difference with “shallow ecology” is that this approach doesn’t just focus on protecting nature for human benefit. He even provides a list of lifestyle trends to embrace the deep ecology movement. The essay “The place of joy in a world of facts” is also very interesting. Naess argues that joy comes not from escaping reality, but from engaging deeply with it, especially through an ecological consciousness that respects the interconnectedness of all life. Number 18 in the Green Ideas collection, this selection of essays is not an easy read, but a very interesting insight into ecology.
“It is very human to ask for the ultimate goal or purpose of being in the world. This may be a misleading way of framing a question. It may seem to suggest that the goal or purpose must somehow lie outside or beyond the world. Perhaps this can be avoided by living out in the world. It is characteristic of our time that we subjectivize and individualize the question asked of each of us: What do you consider the ultimate goal or purpose for your life? Or, we leave out the question of priorities and simply ask for goals and purposes.”
“The Deep Ecology Movement” first published in A. Drengson & H. Glasser (Eds.), Selected Works of Arne Naess, X (pp. 33-55). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer. This article was first published in 1986 in Philosophical Inquiry, 8, 10-31.
All other essays from Ecology of Wisdom, published in Penguin Classics 2016.